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Kiarostami to lead Asian Film Academy

PIFF program headed by Iranian director, Asian faculty

SEOUL -- Iran’s acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami (“The Taste of Cherry”) will lead the Asian Film Academy, a series of film workshops, master classes and special seminars designed to share knowledge on the present film production environment offered by Pusan International Film Festival, which starts October 7 this year.

Other faculty members are Japanese director Ogiganami Naoko and Korean cinematographer Kim Hyung-gu.

The academy deans in the past years were celebrated directors including Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-Hsien (2005), Im Kown-taek (2006) and Japan's Kurosawa Kiyoshi (2009).

Kiarostami gained international recognition when he won the Bronze Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1989 with his film “Where is the Friend’s Home” (1987). His film “Certified Copy” was invited to this year’s Cannes, for which the film’s heroine Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress award.

The Asian Film Academy started in 2005 in cooperation with PIFF and Dongseo University.

Since then, the AFA has produced 123 graduates from 24 different Asian countries including emerging directors such as Boo Jun-feng whose film “Sandcastle” (2010) was invited to this year’s Cannes.

The academy runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16 with 24 students from 16 countries.